Pond Hopper

Pasta w/ chicken & asparagus recipe

I got this recipe originally from the cookbook I mentioned below, but made a few changes of my own...

Ingredients:
500g/1lb asparagus (trimmed)
1/2 Lemon
100g/4oz Bacon (UK- streaky bacon)
500g/1lb Pasta
50g/2oz Butter
225ml/8oz Cream (UK - Dbl cream US- heavy cream or fat free half & half for low cal)
3 or 4 boneless chicken thighs (fat trimmed)
50g/2oz Freshly Grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano Cheese
2 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Small handful of freshly chopped parsley (flat leaf)
Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Serves 4

1) Cut the asparagus into short lengths on an angle, keeping the tips separate.  Cook the stems in salted boiling water for 4 mins, add the tips and cook for one additional minute.  Drain and refresh under cold running water (this is important - it stops it from cooking and becoming too soft) Set the asparagus aside.
2) Cut the chicken into medium sized cubes & sauté over a medium heat for 4 minutes in the olive oil.  Add the garlic and sauté for one additional minute (or until the garlic is browned - be careful not to burn it though). Remove from heat and set aside.
3) Grill the bacon for 3 or 4 minutes until crisp
4) Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until tender.  Meanwhile, simmer the butter and half the cream in a large pan for 2 -3 minutes until slightly thickened. Add the juice from the lemon, the chicken & asparagus and remove from heat.
5) Add the drained pasta, parley & the rest of the cream to the chicken mixture. Toss well with the cheese, salt & pepper to taste and serve topped with the bacon.
Note - I didn't add the rest of the cream to cut down on calories (I thought it was fattening enough).  Instead, I added a small ladle of the pasta water before I drained it.  It came out great.

We really enjoyed this dish and I hope you do too!

My new cookbook...

I've been on a real recipe kick lately.  I love to cook.  I've been cooking all my life.  My Mom would force me to help as a child and when I was a bit older and she went to work - I cooked for the family.  I even studied for a year to become a chef, but changed my mind and didn't finish. 
When I moved here, it took me a while to get the hang of cooking in this country.  measurements are different, a lot of ingredients I used to cook with aren't available here and a lot of foods have different names so finding them were sometimes a challenge.  After 3 years, I've found my way and feel like an accomplished cook again.
I bought a bunch of cookbooks lately.  My favorite is this tiny little paperback called 101 Pasta and Noodle Dishes: Tried-and-tested Recipes (put out by BBC Good Food).  I only got it because it was really cheap and added it to my order on Amazon at the last minute.  I've made three recipes from it this week and they were not only quick and easy, but they were really good.  I highly recommend the book (can't beat the price tag either - less than £4.00) I like it so much, I bought 5 more books from the series today (and sent back 4 of the other cookbooks I bought with my original order). I'm making a lamb dish tonight - if it's good, I'll share the recipe.  I don't have time now, but tomorrow I'll share a wonderful pasta dish I made earlier in the week...